Email from Don Benn of World Vision
Hello,
My name is Don Benn and I am a Schools Relationship Coordinator with World Vision. In addition to schools we also try to engage with students in various other groups – including churches, non-church groups, and home school groups. I have personally connected with a couple of home school groups in the last year and thought it would be good to approach you regarding our resources. I wonder if it would be appropriate for you to make these resources known to those involved in Home Schooling in New Zealand. I have outlined below, with a brief detail, some of the resources we offer. If you would like more information on them please reply and I would love to follow up on them.
1. GLC (Global Leadership Convention). This is a student leader (Year 11-13) leadership training day aimed at empowering and inspiring young leaders who are hungry to influence their world. They are encouraged to think globally and are equipped with practical leadership skills.
2. 40 Hour Famine. This is a practical way for students to act on global issues. They are part of a national fundraiser which last year raised over $2.4 million, involving over 120,000 people in New Zealand. It is also something which can be incorporated into learning as a practical component of a unit relating to food and hunger – for example.
3. Education Resources. World Vision has education writers who produce resources (resource folders, DVD’s, posters, textbooks, worksheets, simulation games) on issues like water, food, child labour, HIV & AIDS, Disasters, Conflict, and various case studies. These resources can be found on our website (http://www.worldvision.org.nz/education/default.aspx). In addition we have Schools Relationship Coordinators based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch who are more than willing to show you samples of those resources.
4. Smiles. Smiles is a catalogue of gifts that can be purchased for people in poorer nations. It ranges from $5 items up to $1300, and covers gifts relating to water, food, shelter, hygiene, education. It is a great practical way to finish a unit of work which relates to one of these topics. Learning about a topic is great, and the opportunity for students to feel like they have been able to do something about what they have learned is like icing on the cake.
I would love to hear from you and see how World Vision can complement the learning already being done in home school groups around New Zealand.
| Donald Benn Schools Relationship Coordinator |
Follow us on www.worldvision.org.nz |
| Mobile: +64 21 0200 9200 DDI: +64 9 580 7700 Fax: +64 9 580 7799 |
Entrepreneurs’ Club is an online financial literacy and entrepreneurship venue for students. Please feel free to view the website at www.duffyclub.co.nz (there is a sample tutorial on the homepage).
It was launched in Auckland two months ago and now they have 30+ Auckland schools taking part. They are planning on offering it to schools throughout the country. Students work as individuals or form teams of two or three members and complete practical tasks throughout the year.
Students learn via online video tutorials, network with other teams from their school or city, and have access to mentors for support and guidance. Topics include money, budgeting and saving, companies and shares, currency, mortgages and buying a home, etc…and writing a business plan, building a financial model, validating the market, etc…depending on the age group. The Entrepreneurs’ Club caters for Years 6-13.
The Duffy Club is happy to open this opportunity to home educated children!
I will act as the coordinator. If you are interested in your children taking part please contact me.
It will take me a couple of days to get back to you with more details: at the moment I am setting up the “Homeschool” school.
Regards
Tarnya Burge
Making a Garden Time Capsule
Don’t you love looking through old photos and stuff you wrote ages
ago? It’s really funny to see how much you’ve changed. Have you ever
considered making a time capsule for your own garden? Imagine the
fun of digging it up in 10 or 20 years time – or if you forget all
about it, some day someone else will find it and treat it as real
buried treasure! You can do it all by yourself or get the whole
family involved.
You will need: A tall glass coffee jar with a screw top lid & lots
of imagination.
What to Do:
1. Wash the jar out with hot water and let it drain upside down on a
wire rack for several days (or put in oven just after you have turned it off to dry quickly). Wash the lid too and let it drain as well. They must both be perfectly dry inside.
2. In selecting the things to go into your capsule, pretend that it
is going to be opened by someone you don’t know many years from now.
(It won’t matter if you open it yourself instead!)
Things you might include:
photos of yourself and your family (put names on the back)
a photo of the house
a photo of the garden
some information about yourself, the rest of the family and the
neighbours
information about your pets and maybe a drawing of them
a description of the colour scheme of the house and maybe a floor
plan
a list of plants growing in the garden and a plan of the garden
a recent nursery catalogue
the front page of the newspaper
DON’T FORGET TO ADD THE DATE!!
3. To put the material into the jar, put it all together on to the
largest sheet of paper and roll it into a cylinder. Slip it into the
jar and it will unroll. Put the lid on very, very firmly.
4. Choose a place to bury the bottle. You will need a deep hole in a
spot where the jar is unlikely to be broken by a fork or spade.
Beside a fence, in a rockery or near the trunk of a big tree are
possibilities.
http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenkids_make5.htm#Making%20a%20Garden%20Time%20Capsule